The STIHL Timbersports Canadian Championship was held in London, Ontario Thursday, July 28 to Sunday, July 31, and the North Island had three competitors, Port McNeill's Nick Russell and Thomas Symons, and Hyde Creek's Alison Briscoe, fly out to go head to head against other Logger Sports athletes from all over Canada.
The event "went well," said Russell in an interview after arriving back home. "It was a lot of fun and very hot and humid. It was sunny all weekend."
Symons finished 7th in the rookie division. He competed in the underhand standing chop, stock saw, and single buck events. Briscoe took 4th overall in the women's division, and was only two points back from first. She scored 11 points overall.
As for himself, Russell competed in the men's pro division and had to pass the qualifiers on Saturday to compete in the Sunday Championship finals. And pass the qualifiers he did, taking 4th place out of ten competitors in the black pool, holding a pretty comfortable lead going into the last event.
All told, Russell ended up taking 8th place overall in the Championship finals, with his tournament highlights being 3rd place in the Stock Saw event and 5th place in the Single Buck.
Vancouver resident Stirling Hart was the overall STIHL Timbersports Canadian Championship winner.